John Kerry in Beijing: Can US and China set aside rivalry for climate action?
As John Kerry touches down in China, the main question will be whether the world's biggest superpowers - and polluters - can dispel diplomatic tensions to focus on key climate goals.
Mr Kerry, the US special envoy on climate, is the latest top official to be dispatched from Washington following visits by Antony Blinken and Janet Yellen - as the US seeks to restart stalled relations with Beijing.
He will meet his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua and other officials on his four-day trip. Mr Kerry's office says he wants to engage with China on "increasing implementation and ambition", and ensuring a successful COP28, the UN climate change conference scheduled for the end of the year.
While their meeting is not widely expected to yield any concrete decisions, it will be seen as a conversation starter. They are likely to discuss their common challenges of accelerating their switch to clean energy and reducing carbon emissions.
The two countries are the biggest investors in renewable energy, with China alone making up more than half of the world's total renewable energy investment, according to one assessment.
But they are also the world's two largest carbon emitters, making them the "G2 of energy consumption, energy use and pollution," noted Dan Kammen, energy professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
"So both are making major steps, but neither are actually seeing emissions fall yet," he told the BBC Newshour programme.
India targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, says Modi
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
COP26: What climate summit means for one woman in Bangladesh
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Why China's climate policy matters to us all
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Deliver on promises, developing world tells rich at climate talks
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.